How to promote elongation of side branches?

I have 2 plants in progress, and would like to LST them.
The problem with one of them however, is it hasn't long enough side growth to tie anywhere, but new growth occurs everyday in shaded areas.
The plant in question is an autoflower, so I plan not to crop anything.

I would like my plant to grow longer side branches, so I can tie them away from the center.
My other plant I started LSTing by tieing the main stem to the side, and I wanted the other one to be trained a little different.

The question is in the title.


The plant in question.

And my other plant, which is looking to be a purple pheno.

2nd question: Is a counter-tie necessary if the stem is bent only so little?

This is my first grow, and I want to make sure my plant won't topple over because of an ill-angled branch growing from the ground.

I've never ran auto flowers, but from what I've seen they don't get very bushy. A lot of pics of auto flowers will have a plant with just one big stalk going straight up, with one huge bud going up it.

Also, are you growing under sunlight? Or do you have a light your using? Just making sure you're giving it 24 hours of light a day if its an auto.

I guess I should also add (these are things that I have read in books or online, but not from people on forums. Still, I'm not sure of their validity) that I have heard of certain things helping keep plants short and stalky with tight node spacing and long branches: blue spectrum light, like a metal halide or 5000k + spectrum CFLs. I've also heard that increased temperatures keep plants shorter, I guess its kind of like having the light closer, or if its farther it stretches kind of thing.

Anyways good luck man, hope it helps. You could maybe try just tying the whole plant down, seeing if it will deliver more hormones to the branches for then to grow straight up.

The other plant I am tying down by the main branch, but wanted to do something different for this one.
I have 4x55w fluorescent tubes. They are 6500k, and yes, it makes them really bushy. That's why I asked, because light just can't penetrate they become so compact eventually.

BTW I don't want to give it warm light to make it stretch. They flourish under these tubes, and when I added warm light they got droopy and looked sad


PS: I'm giving them 20/4. The first 2 weeks I had my lights on 24/0, but I felt it needed some cool down (my spider senses)

How's it looking?